Stress is the body’s reaction to a change. When you feel stressed, your body changes something it is doing, for example, you may start to sweat. Stress can unravel in physical, mental, and emotional ways, and can be due to your surroundings, your thoughts, or your body. For example, someone stressed about making a crucial shot may find their thoughts racing, may notice their heart rate go up and might find their shoulders feel tight.
In some cases, stress can be beneficial (think of the nervous butterflies before competition that help you to feel focused), but at other times stress can be harmful or even debilitating (when school stress overflows into sport). Stress is normal and natural, but sometimes it can seem overwhelming -- especially in sports. In order to perform at your best, you need to be focused on what you need to be doing, which is difficult to do when you are stressed. One strategy for coping with stress is mindfulness.
What is Mindfulness and Why Will it Help?
Simply put, mindfulness is learning to pay attention on purpose. Mindfulness is another word for focus. Often stress can make it easy to forget on what you should be focusing. It can make you worry about past mistakes or future situations. Mindfulness is a way to bring your thoughts back to whatever you should be focused on. You may have a coach who often demands many things, which can be stressful. Using mindfulness techniques is one way to help you feel like the expected tasks are manageable.
In sport, it is incredibly important to be thinking in the present. Some athletes, such as those who practice tai-chi, incorporate mindfulness into their sport because it helps them to feel less stressed. By practicing mindfulness, you are moving your focus away from past or future concerns, and you are able to connect with the present moment. It is important in sports to be present because you can then be focused on what you need to do to preform well. It is nearly impossible to do your best when you are stressed because you cannot fully focus on the task at hand. Mindfulness can bring you from a stressed state to a state in which focus is more attainable in order to help you achieve your goals. A mindful state will help you to become a better athlete because it will make you more aware of yourself and what is going on around you. In sports, it is important to be able to think quickly and stay focused, and by practicing mindfulness you can set yourself up to be able to do those things better.
How do I Practice Mindfulness?
Below is one tool you can use to incorporate mindfulness into your life. In order to be more mindful during practice, try doing this before your practices. You should allow 3-5 minutes to complete this activity. By doing these things listed below, you are bringing your awareness to the present moment. . Because you cannot focus on more than one thing at a time, you will “forget” about the things that had previously been stressing you out. You are allowing yourself to notice your surroundings, which can help you focus on what is important in the moment
Five things right here right now:
1. Start by taking 3 deep breaths from your stomach.
2. Using your eyes, notice 5 things that are in your environment
3. Using your nose, try to identify as many smells as you can
4. With your ears, listen for 5 different sounds
5. Using your sense of touch, find 5 things that you may not normally notice (for example, your clothing, the feeling of chair, or air temperature)
For many people it is normal to have lots of different thoughts during exercises like this one, its okay! If you continue to practice being mindful of what is around you, it will get easier. It is good to start out by practicing this before every practice, but as you feel more comfortable, you can also use it the morning of a big game, in the locker room, or during a break in play.
Alyson Johnson
Bowling Green State University
Ideas adapted from:
Birrer, D., Röthlin, P., Morgan. G. (2012). Mindfulness to enhance athletic performance: Theoretical considerations and possible impact mechanisms. Mindfulness. 3(3), 335-246. doi: 10.1007/s12671-012-0109-2
Birrer, D., Röthlin, P., Morgan. G. (2012). Mindfulness to enhance athletic performance: Theoretical considerations and possible impact mechanisms. Mindfulness. 3(3), 335-246. doi: 10.1007/s12671-012-0109-2
